Maravi

Don’t allow them to cheat poor souls

Don’t allow them to cheat poor souls
By Editor
Sat 13 Feb. 2010, 04:00 CAT

IN our editorial comment yesterday we said that by quoting a lot from the Bible and other religious teachings, we were not in any way trying to compete with our clergymen in preaching the gospel.

It is not possible for us to avoid using religious teachings to explain what is going on in our country, the world we live in. If we were to ask a Zambian worker, a domestic servant, a farmer what concept he or she had of the world, he or she would surely couch his reply in religious terms. The most elementary concept that the poor and suffering, the marginalised, the oppressed people of our country have of the world is a religious one. Ignoring this reality is foreclosing the possibility of establishing a link between our political outlook and the great majority of the masses of our people.

We have to be sensitive to our people’s religious concepts. It’s not easy, for instance, to convince a worker or a farmer that he has to fight for some utopia, for democracy or a more just, fair and humane society whatever that society may be called. But it’s very easy to tell him, “Look, we believe that there is only one God, who is the Father. If that is true, we should all live as brothers and sisters, but the brotherhood that God wants doesn’t exist in our nation.

It is denied by injustice, unfairness, selfishness, vanity, greed, corruption, intolerance, inequalities of all sorts, economic contradictions and so on and so forth. So for us, basing ourselves on the very root of our faith, fighting for brotherhood means fighting against all those things that concretely and historically hinder justice, fairness, humaneness, social equality, freedom and full dignity for everyone no matter what his job, tribe, colour or ideas.” This is the approach we find reasonable in the circumstances of our country. And that’s why we have joined the many priests, pastors, reverends and others in basing our political arguments on biblical or religious teachings.

It is for this reason that we share the views of Reverend Richard M’bao, the chairperson of the East and Southern Africa International Pastors Forum, who is currently visiting our country in paying tribute to all our religious leaders who, amid lack of understanding and in the blessedness of the thirst for justice, are preparing, in the manner of John the Baptist, for the coming of the Lord in a more just, fair and humane society whatever that may be called.

Reverend M’bao is right when he says “political governance should be aimed at attaining the common good and not the manipulation of the poor that we see from politicians. They should not be given room to cheat the poor souls, that’s why the clergy’s presence in the promotion of human dignity must be felt and respected by all”.

We think the highest level of religious thought was reached when some clergymen and other religious people became aware that no people and no man had the right to abuse others, to rob others, to exploit others, and that the fruits of the efforts and intelligence of each human being should reach all others; that man really had no need to be a wolf, but could be a brother to man. That is the main essence of the premises on which our clergymen who, following the example of Christ, devote their work, their preaching to the humble, the poor; dedicate their work to fighting against abuse, injustice and the degradation of human beings.

This also reminds us of Fidel Castro’s 1971 talk with Catholics in Chile, his 1977 meeting with ministers in Jamaica, and the phrase of his in the first few years of the Cuban Revolution: “He who betrays the poor betrays Christ.”

All religions preach love as their core teaching; yet we find people who are apparently very religious and faithful to their religious practices and at the same time, very selfish, very greedy, very corrupt, very intolerant and very difficult to live and work with. We find among them those who do not seem to have any qualms of conscience about their selfish and corrupt behaviour like stealing public funds; abusing power; telling lies; taking bribes; cheating in elections, politics and business; being vengeful and so on and so forth. These people may even go to church, temple or mosque on their way to do these evil things. We find this phenomenon all over the world and down the centuries.

When religion degenerates into religiosity either at the individual or at the organisational level, religious practices and structures tend to replace religious values. Religion, then, instead of becoming a liberating force, a force of justice, fairness and humaneness, becomes a means of exploitation, abuse, deceit and corruption, or as Karl Marx would say, opium, both of individuals and of religious groups.

It is understandable why, as Reverend M’bao has correctly observed, clergymen who criticise inept governance must be encouraged and their teachings listened to. Truly, politicians must not be given a chance to prevail over every governance issue in the country. After all, all politicians, whatever their rank, are servants of the people, and not their masters, and whatever they do should be to serve the people, and as such cannot be expected to lord over the people. If they look at politics this way, they will not have difficulties discarding this culture of intolerance and lack of humility which makes them fail to place the humanity of others before self and accept that all citizens have a right to participate in the shaping of their destiny directly without fear of reprisal.

Without courageous clergymen, we don’t know where this country would be today in terms of good governance. We therefore need these courageous and honest clergymen to continue to be the conscience of our nation, moral custodians and fearless champions of the interests of the weak and downtrodden.

Our clergymen, our religious leaders have both the right and duty to participate fully in building a just, fair, humane and peaceful society with all the means at their disposal. And they are not fully rooted among their people if they do not try to establish justice. And as it has been stated before, politics is not a “dirty game” but is a genuine way of being at the service of others for the integral development of the country. This being the case, our priests, pastors, reverends and other religious leaders have a role in ensuring honest politics in our country. Politics needs people with integrity because their presence in the political arena can bring gospel values to the political process.

We say this because good religious leaders value the democratic system in as much as it ensures the participation of citizens in making political choices, guarantees to the governed the possibility of electing and holding accountable those who govern them, and of replacing them through peaceful means when appropriate. Politics is therefore for the good of the people and the country, and not for the political survival of any individual or political party. And for this reason, we believe that true democracy is a growth in the confidence, in the power of ordinary people, humble citizens to transform their country and thus transform themselves.

It is a growth in the appreciation of people organising, deciding, creating together. It is a growth in fraternal love. This is the true meaning of democracy. And love is the extraordinary force which leads people, which leads our clergymen to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field of justice, fairness, humaneness and peace. To love someone is to desire that person’s good and to take effective steps to secure it. Besides the good of the individual, there is a good that is linked to living in society: the common good. It is the good of “all of us”, made up of individuals, families and intermediate groups who together constitute society. It is a good that is sought, not for its own sake, but for the people who belong to the social community and who can only live and effectively pursue their own good within it.

To desire the common good and strive towards it is a requirement of justice, fairness and humaneness. To take a stand for the common good is on the one hand to be solicitous for, and on the other hand to avail oneself of, that complex of institutions that give structure to the life of society, juridically, civilly, politically and culturally. The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real need of our neighbours, the more effective we love them. Every Christian is called to practice this charity, in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields. And when animated by charity, commitment to the common good has greater wealth than a merely secular and political stand would have.

If we look at things this way, it will not be difficult for us to understand why Reverend M’bao is saying that “politicians must not be given room to cheat poor souls” and that “those who criticise inept governance must be encouraged and their teachings listened to”.

Labels: POLITICS, POVERTY, RICHARD M'BAO

posted by MrK @ 3:36 AM